Turning Points Special: Icy Heat
by WynterSky
Summary: Turning Points-verse. Itachi finally lets Sasuke participate on a mission, but then things go disastrously wrong.


**Icy Heat**

[A/N: This takes place a few months after Sandcastles and Playmates, so Sasuke is still eight years old.]

"You understand everything you're supposed to do, right, Otouto-chan?"

Sasuke nodded eagerly but didn't say anything. He was still a bit in awe that Itachi was actually letting him help in a mission; his brother must be realizing that he wasn't a little kid anymore.

Itachi hesitated a moment, clearly not entirely at ease with leaving Sasuke alone, then vanished. Sasuke could sense his chakra receding into the distance, but hadn't been able to detect the movement.

Their plan involved both of them coming from opposite directions, so Sasuke began to circle around using the route Itachi had given him.

The building Itachi's mission required breaking into—a high-security scroll library—was a squat rectangular structure with few windows and a forbidding concrete facade. Kumo village was not much for outward appearance, preferring functionality. There were no fancy carvings or pillars that could be hidden behind, and although there were already two guards at the entrance the seals on the doors should have be enough to stop almost any shinobi who managed to get past them.

Kumo just hadn't planned on Itachi.

Stopping around a corner out of sight of the building, Sasuke glanced at his reflection in a mirror. He hadn't exactly been pleased at being made to dress up as a girl outside of the teahouse where they occasionally worked, but Itachi was letting him _help _instead of staying holed up in a dreary hotel room with a few threadbare toys and picture books.

Itachi had picked a festival week for his heist, as the guards would be distracted and potentially less in number. Sasuke was wearing a girl's yukata, light blue with white bunnies and little red flowers on it—he had firmly rejected anything pink, but Itachi had eventually found something tolerable. It was a little small and a tad constricting to walk in, especially with the heavy white obi tied around it, but he could manage. Itachi had eventually given up on getting Sasuke's hair to behave, and tied a dark blue ribbon around it so that at least it wasn't falling in his eyes.

All in all, Sasuke knew he looked devastatingly adorable, and that was what the plan needed, anyway. Satisfied that he was coming from the right direction and far enough away, he started towards the library, pattering as quickly as he could without distorting the neat lines of his yukata.

He knew exactly where the building was, and exactly where the guards were, but he still stopped short and put a surprised look on his face when he came up adjacent to them. Running over to one of them, he tugged insistently on her short coat.

The woman seemed startled, one hand jerking towards her shuriken holster before she looked down and saw Sasuke. Kneeling down to his level, the kunoichi frowned at him curiously. "What are you doing here, sweetie?" she cooed. Sasuke forced himself not to show distaste at her saccharine tone. "This isn't a place for little girls."

The other guard had also seen what was going on by this point, and while she did not leave her post she turned so that she could not see the direction Itachi would be approaching from, just as the plan called for. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," the first guard said before turning back to Sasuke. "Hey, are you lost?"

Sasuke shrugged. He only needed to hold their attention for a few more seconds—while he couldn't see Itachi, they had timed things out so that it wasn't necessary. "I'm trying to find the market, where the festival is," he said, mumbling just a little bit to force them to listen to him more closely. "Kaa-san couldn't go, so Wakana-ba-san was going to meet me there."

"Okay then," the guard said, pointing down a parallel road, "you just need to go straight that way, and then after a bit you'll turn right. There should be a sign, but if you can't find it just ask one of the shopkeepers. Now, you'd better go, we really aren't supposed to talk to people."

"Ooooh," Sasuke said, dropping his tone to a conspiratorial whisper. "Well, I won't tell anybody." Turning in the direction they had pointed he headed off as fast as the yukata would let him, pausing at the first corner seemingly to turn and wave at them but actually to see if there had been any evidence of Itachi's tampering. Sasuke couldn't see any change, but he hadn't been able to get a very good look at the seals for fear of making the guards suspicious.

As soon as Sasuke was well out of sight of the library, a shadow dropped down behind him. "Aniki!" Sasuke cried, turning around. "Did you do it?"

"Of course I did," Itachi replied calmly, pulling Sasuke into an alley. "Come on, we need to get something to eat before it gets dark."

Sasuke nodded. Immediately after Itachi went back to the library and used the gap he'd made into the seal barrier to break in, they would be leaving. He had already packed all of his things, and Itachi didn't carry much worth mentioning besides weapons. "Can I take this off now?" he asked, tugging at one of the sleeves.

"I'm afraid not—we can't have anyone noticing that you look like a little boy _now _when you looked like a little girl an hour ago."

Sasuke pouted, but he could understand the reasoning. "Then can I go to the park? There's one right over by the school, I passed it."

Itachi raised his eyebrows, then sighed. "Well, at least you _asked_ this time. Go ahead; I'll get _some things _done and then bring you a bento."

"Thank you, Aniki!" Sasuke cheered, then hurried off in the direction of the park.

The park near Kumo's single civilian school was a pleasant little place. There was a field with soft grass and an expansive playground. Unlike the last park he had been to—the one in Suna where he had gotten in such a mess—the surface of the playground was covered in sweet-smelling wood mulch rather than ikky sand. Sasuke was a little edgy as he approached the swings, remembering what had happened the last time. But Itachi knew where he was this time, so what could go wrong?

The swings here were tall, and Sasuke struggled to get into the seat with the restrictive yukata on. Eventually, however, he managed it, and began to pump his feet to gain altitude. This was also difficult, and as he hadn't been able to push off the ground properly in the first place he made little progress.

Sasuke was about to give up and jump down when someone else grabbed the chains of the swing, just above his hands. Turning around, he saw a pretty girl with long, straight brown hair looking down at him. "Do you need some help?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded shyly, a little nervous at having someone else so close. Still, this girl didn't have a Kumo headband, which meant that she was probably just a civilian here for the festival. Her outfit seemed to bear this out; she wore a neat pink yukata (although without sleeves, which was rather unique) with a dark border and brown rosettes.

"All right then, hold on!" the girl said, pulling Sasuke back and then giving him a surprisingly strong push forward. At the peak of his arc, Sasuke could see over the school all the way to the city wall.

Sasuke loved the soaring feeling of the swings, the floating sensation and the wind rushing through his hair. The girl obligingly pushed him higher and higher, and the sun was setting before he realized it.

Finally, the girl stepped back, letting the swing slow. "I have to go now," she said once the swing's speed had been reduced enough for Sasuke to hear her.

"Okay," Sasuke replied. "Um, can you..." he waved vaguely at the ground, somewhat embarrassed at having to ask for more help.

Quickly guessing what Sasuke's problem was, the girl grabbed the chains of the swing again, bringing Sasuke to a sudden halt.

Sasuke jumped down, a little wobbly after having been on the swings so long. "Thank you very much, nee-san," he said with a little bow.

The girl smiled. "Oh no, I didn't mind at all! But, I'll tell you a secret..." Kneeling down, she pushed the now-askew ribbon away so she could whisper in Sasuke's ear. "_I'm not_ really _a girl._"

Sasuke stared at her (him?) in shock. In his surprise, the only thing he could think of to say was, "Actually, neither am I."

By the time he realized what he'd said, the girl-who-was-not-a-girl was gone, and Sasuke wasn't even quite sure if that last bit had really happened.

"Suzume, I've got dinner!" he heard Itachi calling distantly, using one of their latest pair of aliases. Putting that odd little incident out of his head, Sasuke hurried over, ravenous after playing so long.

...

Itachi had been successful in his heist, and also in covering his tracks, and there was no sign that anyone had discovered what had happened when they left the village. Therefore, Itachi was not in any great hurry as they headed South to where the client would meet them—undue haste could create suspicion where there had been none before.

Sasuke didn't mind the leisurely pace either. Cloud Country was a nice place to travel in, especially after Suna. Anyway, Sasuke didn't like running away from things; he could still remember (vaguely, anyway) the night that he and Itachi had fled their first home. He remembered little else about it, even their family.

They travelled all through the night and the day after that, then camped by a clear, quiet stream. The next morning, Itachi seemed rather tense, but wouldn't tell Sasuke why. He did, however, insist on carrying the bag with their plunder himself, rather than trading off with Sasuke as they had been before since the bag was heavy and a little unwieldy.

After they had been walking for a few hours, Sasuke said that he was thirsty. Itachi handed him the canteen and Sasuke tilted it only to find that it was empty. "Nii-san, there's nothing in this."

Itachi frowned. "Didn't you fill it last night?"

"No, I thought you did, while you were fishing."

"Well, there's nothing for it, I suppose," Itachi said with a sigh. "That stream is still close to the trail—you wait here, I'll be right back."

Sasuke obediently sat down at the edge of the trail as he waited for Itachi to return. He had only been gone a minute when he heard something, very faint, from the woods next to the trail—but the other side from where Itachi had gone.

Backing into the open trail again so he couldn't be ambushed easily, Sasuke reached in a pocket for one of the few kunai he carried. He knew better than to call for Itachi, as if he had heard a person rather than an animal it would foolish to give away Itachi's element of surprise.

There was a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, and Sasuke turned toward it, flinging his kunai. Before the weapon could fly more than a few feet, however, it was blocked by a slab of ice that seemed to materialize in front of him.

Turning, Sasuke found his way blocked by another pane of ice, and soon he was entirely surrounded by a dome of ice. Shivering (not entirely from the cold) he tried to peek through one of the gaps.

Itachi had returned to the trail, probably just after Sasuke had been trapped in this ice dome, and now was engaged in combat with a tall missing-nin wielding a gigantic sword. Sasuke knew that if his safety was at stake Itachi would let himself be defeated, and tried to pry two of the ice slabs apart so he could get out. The gaps quickly began to seal themselves, and Sasuke had to pull his fingers out so they wouldn't be trapped.

At Sasuke's insistence, Itachi had begun teaching him the fireball technique a few months ago, but the small flame he could produce at this point could not melt the thick ice. Itachi had been carrying all their explosive tags, for fear of accidents, so Sasuke couldn't get out that way.

Taking out another kunai, Sasuke began chipping at the corner of one of the slabs. The ice began to regrow as he worked, but slowly enough that he was making some progress. He was almost halfway through the ice when someone grabbed his hand.

Sasuke whirled around, gasping in shock. There was no way someone else could have gotten inside the ice dome, not without him noticing.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that," the other person said. He was wearing different clothes now, and a smooth painted mask covered his face, but Sasuke recognized the voice and the straight dark hair.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded, trying to pull his hand away from the other boy's—for he was sure it was a boy now—oddly cold fingers. He succeeded in freeing himself, but not before the other boy had forced him to drop the kunai. Heart sinking, Sasuke watched the ice completely fill the hole he had created. "What do you want?"

"My name is Haku," the other boy said softly. "I am sorry that you were brought into this...I did not realize—" Haku broke off short, looking over Sasuke's shoulder at the outside of the dome. "I will go now," he said, deftly kicking Sasuke's kunai up from the roadway and grabbing it. "I am _very _sorry."

"Wha—why?" Sasuke stammered out, but Haku said nothing, taking a step forward and appearing_ inside _one of the ice panels before stepping out onto the road outside.

It had been warm and sunny on the road, with a light, pleasant breeze, but that seemed to be days ago as Sasuke shivered inside the dome of ice. After Haku left the dome, the ice turned transparent again, and Sasuke could see Itachi standing across from the sword-wielding missing-nin, apparently negotiating. Itachi looked through the ice at him with a look in his eyes that chilled Sasuke more than the ice had.

"Don't do anything, Aniki!" Sasuke shouted, pressing his hands against the ice barrier. "Please, I'll be fine!"

Itachi frowned slightly, having obviously been able to see Sasuke shouting but not able to hear him. The tall missing-nin said something and Itachi nodded curtly before replying. The missing-nin shrugged, Itachi took a small step back, and Sasuke gasped as he saw the needles in Haku's hands—

The ice turned opaque before Sasuke could see any more. Driven by the need to get to Itachi _right now, _Sasuke scraped and pounded at the ice, not even noticing when some of the sharp slivers were jabbed underneath his fingernails.

It seemed to be hours but had probably actually been about a minute when the dome of ice suddenly collapsed, splashing Sasuke with chilly water as it melted instantly. Sasuke nearly fell as the surface he had been leaning against vanished, then scrambled to his feet and dashed over to where Itachi had last been standing.

The tall missing-nin stepped aside and Sasuke froze in shock as he saw Itachi lying motionless on the road. "A-aniki?" Sasuke whispered.

There was no response.

"Aniki!" Sasuke shouted, stumbling forward and falling to his knees next to his brother's body. "Aniki, wake up!" Grabbing Itachi's coat, Sasuke started to shake him, then stopped when he realized that Itachi's eyes were open, staring glassily at the sky.

Sasuke began to feel fumblingly for a pulse, then flinched when the tall missing-nin stepped past him and over Itachi's body to pick up the bag with the stolen scrolls. "You should get out of here," the missing-nin growled.

"Yes," Haku said quietly, still sounding apologetic. "Run away, little one."

Sasuke shook his head numbly, too dazed to even really notice when the two missing-nin were out of sight.

Itachi hadn't breathed once.

Itachi's heart wasn't beating.

Itachi was_ dead._

And it was all Sasuke's fault.

If only he hadn't spoken to Haku at the park, or forgotten to fill up the empty canteen. If only he had been alert enough or fast enough not to get caught in that ambush and force Itachi to bargain for his life. If only he hadn't been _there,_slowing Itachi down and distracting him, Itachi would still be alive now.

Sasuke didn't even bother to wipe away the tears as they spilled over and fell, mingling with the water melting from the ice needles piercing Itachi's neck. Everything went blurry as Sasuke sobbed with grief and guilt.

Suddenly the blurriness vanished, replaced with intense clarity, and Sasuke gasped in shock at the burning pain in his eyes. He rubbed at them, but that didn't seem to do anything. Pulling his hand away, Sasuke yelped in horror as he realized that there was blood coating his fingers.

Briefly, Sasuke could see_ everything. _Every speck of dust on the road, every blade of grass, every tiny drop of blood on Itachi's coat. It was overwhelming, too much to take in at once, and Sasuke covered his eyes as pain seared through his skull.

He was about to scream when everything vanished, and Sasuke fell unconscious on the road, his head nestled against Itachi's shoulder.

...

Itachi's first sensation, when he awoke, was one of confusion. This really wasn't what he had expected the afterlife to be like. In fact, it seemed an awful lot like the road he had been on before he had sacrificed himself to Zabuza on the condition that Sasuke not be harmed.

His neck ached, and Itachi frowned as he reached up and felt two small puncture wounds, wincing a little as he remembered the needles Zabuza's apprentice had used. Apparently Itachi had managed to survive, although he wasn't sure whether or not that was a tribute to the boy's skill.

There was something warm and heavy laying against him, and Itachi turned his head slightly, still not wanting to rise. When he saw Sasuke's fluffy dark hair, Itachi forgot his pain and quickly sat up, taking Sasuke in his arms.

Sasuke looked fine, but there was blood all over his hands, which was strange because Itachi could tell none of his injuries had actually bled very much. In fact, even the needles had vanished, apparently an ice technique like the dome Sasuke had been trapped in.

Itachi discovered the reason for all the blood when Sasuke stirred slightly, shifting so Itachi could see his face. Frozen in shock, Itachi stared at the two thick trails of blood flowing from Sasuke's eyes and coating his face.

They had promised,_ promised _they wouldn't hurt Sasuke. He was only an untrained child, no threat to them. What reason could they have had to do this? And what could Itachi do to care for Sasuke now?

Sasuke whimpered and stirred again, struggling to open his eyes. Itachi gently wiped some of the blood away with the hem of his sleeve and clutched Sasuke tightly, bracing himself for what he would see when Sasuke's eyes opened.

To his surprise, Sasuke's eyes seemed completely normal, and it was clear that he could see, for his face lit up as soon as he saw Itachi. "Aniki! What—_how? _I thought for sure you were dead, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." Sasuke began to cry, tears diluting the blood covering his face.

"It wasn't your fault," Itachi whispered reassuringly, reaching in his pocket for a handkerchief to wipe Sasuke's face. The blood still worried him, but he thought there might be a possible reason for it. Unfortunately, said reason would complicate their situation even further.

"But—" Sasuke began to protest. "But Haku, in the park, and the canteen, and—"

"As far as I can tell, Zabuza didn't even know about you until the ambush. If anything, it was my fault for leaving you alone on the road," Itachi said matter-of-factly. "This handkerchief isn't doing any good, let's go back to the stream and get you cleaned up."

Once Itachi had gotten the blood off of Sasuke's face and hands and rinsed his shirt out as best he could, he knew he had to ask what happened. He shouldn't have put it off this long, in fact, but he had been dreading the answer. "Sasuke..." he began.

"Yes, Aniki?" Sasuke replied.

"Before I woke up...while you still thought I was dead...did something happen to your eyes?"

Sasuke nodded. "I don't know what it was, but I could see everything all at once, and it _hurt,_and then they were bleeding—it's okay now, right? Is there something wrong with my eyes?"

"Here, let me check," Itachi said, kneeling next to Sasuke and placing his hands on either side of the boy's temples. Sasuke blinked at the touch but held still, innocently trusting. "This...might hurt," Itachi said quickly, pushing his chakra into Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke froze, his eyes widening as his pupils split into the crimson-and-black pattern of the Sharingan, then again into a pattern Itachi had never seen before. When Sasuke bit his lip with pain as a few drops of blood began to drip down his face, Itachi immediately removed his chakra. To his relief, Sasuke's eyes quickly returned to normal.

"What was that, Aniki?" Sasuke asked a little shakily, after washing his face off again.

"That," Itachi replied gravely, "was the Mangekyou Sharingan."

...

Several miles away, Zabuza paused and turned to Haku. "I know your techniques," he said. "Why didn't you kill him?"

Haku shrugged defensively. "We got what we wanted, Zabuza-sama. It was not necessary to kill him—he will be too burdened with the child to pursue us."

Zabuza sighed. "Well, this once I guess it's all right. Can't have you getting too soft, though. Remember, an enemy shinobi is much different from a pet rabbit."

"I understand, Zabuza-sama," Haku replied quietly, obediently following.

[A/N: I know it's not a proper Turning Points update, but it's important backstory. I have made progress on Turning Points proper and hope to have the last chapter of Part I done within a couple weeks. Sorry for making you wait so long!]


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